Active defense?

[MACLARREN]

My group has been playing D&D together for very long time. Some of us have been playing together since the early 80's and the rest since around 2000. Solid group that meets two times a year for marathon sessions that begin on Thursday nights when everyone arrives and runs through the Sunday. Nothing like these sessions and total good times.

We got back in to it in 2000 when we were introduced to 3E and loved it. However, from the DM side, 3E is not the most DM friendly system. Had a full campaign from 1st to 15-16 under that system moving to 3.5 in the process. After that DM burn out as high level play is not easy on the DM for prep etc. The reliance on magic items, stat boosters etc are part of the game.

So we jumped to 4e when it launched and had high hopes. It was not our flavor but there were good aspects in it which we did like as well. Then we decided we were going to build our own system from the ground up and that went well for a time until to many arguments and we put it on the back burner and picked up the Conan d20 system. Armor as DR, parry and Dodge were introduced to us. Along with active defense. At first thought, we were all skeptical and there was no way we would like it. Well, boy were we wrong. What we found was that it kept everyone involved when other people were going. Even if you were +15 to hit and a gimme roll against a static AC, you were now rolling off against that player to see who wins etc. It changed how we gamed forever. Maybe not for everyone but if ever an interest in changing things around, check it out.

Now we have gone on to develop our own system out of the best of multiple systems and all of the spells that took away from other classes are gone. No teleport, fly or buffing of spells out of combat. Magic Missile still always hits but active defense on spells as well. Spell templets out of 4e and save ends mechanic installed (Hold person is deadly and movement to get to the coup de grace is crucial) Much much more on spells with spell ranges simplified- (Trailblazer classes along with some home brewed fixed classes with options (Clerics have Deific gifts that can enable them to benefit from buff spells of 3rd level or lower when cast on another party member, Marshal class reinstated and revamped), Action Points, combat reactions, Spell design and BMB), (Pathfinder- spell descriptions, CMD, CMB, Feats (Cleave still works like 3e version), skills), (Conan- Active defense, Armor as DR, Weapons AP values, Fate Points idea, reputation, etc) There is also no healing mechanic in combat and let me tell you, it adds to the fun and I never thought I would say that. At least it is fun for our group. IMO, we have devised the perfect rules that work for us complete with hardbound book from Lulu and SRD for us to reference with our game. The best part is for the DM, he works by 4e rules and doesn't follow what we do. For this to work, you need to have a DM you can trust and believe me, we do. We don't like going in to a cake walk and last session was amazing and the sense of death was there for everyone which is what we enjoy. The best change was the active defense though IMO, just seeing if anyone has used it and thoughts? We love it and as I said, it helps to stay involved when it isn't your turn along with combat reactions as well.

 

[Smoss]

Conan d20 had some influence on my own RPG system, though I had taken active defense from the old optional D&D rule for it. My system also uses active defense (Parry, Dodge, or Mental defenses). I was most worried about any effect on speed - As I worked to design my system for fast, deadly combat.

Since it is rare for anything to have more than one attack and it is two diff people rolling dice at the same time, speed was not affected. And it works really, REALLY well with my hero die mechanic (Add an extra d6 to any d20 roll). Add that d6 to avoid a hit or to surpass that defense, etc.

So yeah, like the active defense and so do my players.

My RPG system's influences:
Star Wars Saga - Core d20 tweaked OGL mechanic and skills
Shadowrun - Various build point and attribute ideas
Mutants and Masterminds - First guide to my build point system and costs
D&D 4e - Proficiencies and one hit kills (minions)
Conan d20 - Parry and Dodge defenses
------------------------------------------
Smoss
RPG System - Doulairen

 

[Scurvy_Platypus]

There's something to be said for Active Defenses sure.

The downside is the amount of time it takes. When you start getting iterative attacks and you've got things like Haste adding into the mix, etc... things slow down. Active Defenses make for players being more involved, Passive Defenses make for a faster game.

The solution I personally happen to be leaning towards is the "Players roll all the dice" variant. You can read it here:
Players Roll All The Dice :: d20srd.org

I need to test it out, but I think it's what's going to work for me. Less time I need to spend worrying about rolling the dice and players are going to be actively engaged.

 

[MACLARREN]

That players roll all the dice idea is good but I still am a fan of the active defense. To me, it's all about rolling the d20 and rolling against the DM makes it that much more enjoyable. Trailblazer has a nice solution to the iteritive attack problem with no one getting more then 2 attacks per round. To be honest, our action point system which stems from Trailblazer as well adds to it. With AP's you get a bonus d20 to roll for anything a d20 could be rolled. Again, not for everyone but it works for us and we finally have a game that fits our mold. We have eight guys and 1 DM for these sessions and with this new rule set, turns have never been faster as with the last session. No tracking rounds for spell durations etc and a simple roll of the die doesn't bog the round down. It's all the accounting that does that and our rules have put an end in a good way to all of that mess as much as it can. Thanks for the replies.

 

[Rhun]

I've never used active defense in a D&D game, but I did like the Parry/Dodge mechanic when I used to play Rifts. (It sounds like it operates the same way as what you are doing.)